Key Points
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the video showed Russian occupiers killing a soldier.
- The man has been identified as Tymofiy Shadura.
- He is being hailed as a hero by Ukrainians across social media.
Ukraine's military on Tuesday identified a soldier who it said was shot dead by "Russian invaders" in a viral video on social media, and hailed him as a hero whose death would be avenged.
In a Facebook post, the 30th Mechanised Brigade named the man as Tymofiy Shadura. It said he had been missing since 3 February after hostilities around the eastern city of Bakhmut, scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the war in Ukraine.
Formal confirmation would be made once his body was returned from territory occupied by Russian forces, said the brigade, which is part of Ukraine's Ground Forces.
The 12-second video shows an apparently unarmed man in a uniform with a Ukrainian flag insignia on his arm standing and smoking a cigarette in a wooded area.
The man says "Slava Ukraini!" - or Glory to Ukraine - before multiple shots are heard coming from an unseen shooter or shooters. The man slumps to the ground as bullets appear to hit his body. A voice is heard saying "Die, b****" in Russian.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the video showed Russian occupiers killing a soldier, and the man was quickly hailed by Ukrainians as a hero across social media, where many users posted "Heroyam Slava" in response.
"According to preliminary information, the deceased is a serviceman of the 30th separate mechanised brigade, Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura," the brigade's Facebook post said.
"The command of the 30th separate mechanized brigade and the Hero's brothers express their sincere condolences to his relatives and friends. Revenge for our Hero will be inevitable. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!" it said.
Criminal case
The "Glory to Ukraine" phrase and the response "Heroyam Slava", or "Glory to the Heroes", has been a hallmark of post-Soviet Ukraine, but it has taken on special significance as a common greeting in public life since the start of the war.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the authenticity, date or location of the video. Russia's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a query about it.
A lawyer who was wounded in battle last year said he was collecting money for a reward to anyone who identified those responsible. He personally pledged US$1,000 ($1,518).
Ukrainian authorities did not say where or when the shooting occurred.
Within hours, #GloryToUkraine became one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter.
Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said Ukraine's security service had registered the shooting as a criminal case under a part of the criminal code that covers violations of war laws and customs.
Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence of thousands of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities or attacked civilians.
